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In honor of Bruce’s freezeout, five others we’d like to see play Las Vegas

By JASON BRACELINLAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

You know those huge foam hands that fans wave around at sporting events to let everyone know that their team is number one?

Well, imagine one of those things with the middle finger extended instead of the index finger.

And that’s what Bruce Springsteen is directing towards Vegas today.

This morning, The Boss announced another leg of tour dates and once again, this city is not on the itinerary.

C’mon, man, what gives?

Springsteen might be the best live act on the planet and yet he avoids Vegas like most Sin City tourists do sobriety.

And he’s not alone.

Here are five big name acts who have been avoiding Vegas in recent years — and sometimes much longer — who I’d like to see play here.

5. Neil Young: It’s been too long since Young last blazed The Joint at the Hard Rock. He’s never played the new room, in fact. Have a heart (of gold, not coal) and come back, Mr. Young.

4. Tom Petty: Petty turned in an epic set at Vegoose in ‘06. C’mon, Tom, that couldn’t have been Mary Jane’s last dance in Vegas, right?

3. Pearl Jam: It’s been close to eight years since the band the MGM Grand Garden Arena with Sonic Youth in the summer of ‘06. They’ve done a ton of touring since then, and Vedder played some solo dates at The Pearl a few years back, but we’re due a return from a group that’s meant to be experienced live more than on any record.

2. Tom Waits: Has Waits’ ever played Vegas? We might to settle for a mere appearance by the gravel-voiced great at The Smith Center in April when a Penn Gillette co-directed production of Shakespeare’s “The Tempest,” which Waits created music for, comes to town.

1. Radiohead: The band has famously only performed here once, opening for Tears for Fears at what was then the Aladdin Theatre over two decades ago. At least no one would be calling for “Creep” this time around.